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Chapter 81 The Holy Book Reflecting Bourgeois Values

Chapter 80 The Holy Book Reflecting Bourgeois Values: "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism"

In the field of western sociology, "The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism" is regarded as a classic.From a comparative point of view,

Discuss the internal relationship between the spiritual and cultural temperament of the major nations in the world and the social and economic development of the nation.try this book
The figure shows that the Protestantism formed by the Western nations after the Reformation played a major role in the development of modern Western capitalism.
role.Weber studied the spirit of capitalism from the perspective of Protestant ethics, which broadened people's theoretical vision and research perspective.

Sociologists explore religion

Max Weber (1864~1920) was a famous German sociologist.

In 1904, he was invited to participate in the International Science Conference in St. Louis, USA. After returning home, he published "The Teachings of North America in the Christian World".

Churches and Sects" and "Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism" brought him international fame. In 1909, at the initiative of Weber et al.

Under the meeting, the German Sociological Society was founded.

The era Weber lived in was the era when capitalism moved from free competition to monopoly, that is, the era of imperialism.Germany in the 19th century
In the second half of the year, it became one of the advanced industrial capitalist countries with high-speed development.With the development of industrial capitalism,
The strength of the working class is growing day by day, and the struggle between labor and capital is becoming more and more acute.The German Empire fought for
The colonies, diverting the attention of the domestic class struggle, are planning to launch a predatory war. From 1914 to 1918, the outbreak of

world war.Faced with this turbulent situation, German thinkers tried to think in their own way and seek out

road. "The Protestant Ethic and Capitalism" was written under such an era background.

On the Reformation and on Capitalism

"Protestant Ethics and the Spirit of Capitalism" is composed of two papers: "Part [-]: Issues" contains "Religious Sects and Social Stratification"

, "The Spirit of Capitalism" and "Luther's Concept of 'Profession'";

Ethics contains two chapters on "The Religious Basis of Asceticism in the World" and "Asceticism and the Spirit of Capitalism".author mentioned
Identifies and answers the following questions: Why did capitalism first develop in the Protestant (Evangelical)
Bishop's district developed?Why did the Puritan Britons succeed in piety, trade and freedom at the same time?
Great progress?In the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church preached that life on earth is sin and suffering, and that happiness and bliss are far away in heaven, so they worshiped money

People who want to be denounced by Catholic ethics as despicable and shameless, who pursue wealth are regarded as "people who are difficult to satisfy God".the book has

What is significant is the introduction of the concept of "occupation".This German word has the meaning of "God's appointed task", which affirms the fulfillment of
Worldly obligations are the only way of life promised by God.More closely related to the spirit of modern capitalism is the Swiss religious reformer
Erwin's pre-determined theory of fate.He declared that only certain people would be saved in the afterlife as God's "chosen people"

save.

Weber demonstrated that after Luther, Calvin and other religious reforms, the Protestant ethics of asceticism in the world and its "view of vocation" became

The spiritual pillar of emerging entrepreneurs, and evolved into a capitalist spirit that advocates frugality, cherishing time, hard work and self-discipline, thus

contributed to the rise of rational capitalism.Weber found that when Western rational capitalism began to take shape in the 16th and 17th centuries, people

The continuous accumulation of wealth, rather than the material rewards of such accumulation, is an end in itself; the pursuit of profit is not the pursuit of enjoyment

Instead, use profits for reproduction, and use the most effective rational means to expand wealth through market mechanisms; these people

willing
Self-discipline, delaying the gratification of desires, and viewing hard work as a virtue and an obligation.This kind of work (see

work as an end in itself), profit (reasonable additional investment), and consumption (delayed material enjoyment) constitute the essence of capitalism.

god.Weber sought to find the source of this spirit, and he found its essence in an ethic called Protestant asceticism.

source.According to Weber, "The economic behavior of capitalism is that which depends upon the exploitation of exchange opportunities for expected profits, that is,

Is behavior that depends on (formally) peaceful opportunities for profit. "This capitalism, with a rational calculation of expenditures and revenues, has
The orderly arrangement of production and management activities is its characteristic, so it is called rational capitalism.Weber discovered that the Protestant
A well-organized and systematically arranged ascetic lifestyle in the world is completely consistent with the economic behavior of rational capitalism

of.

In a study of comparative civilizations entitled "The Economic Ethics of World Religions," Weber attempted to find

Counter-evidence: that is, in various civilizations lacking Protestant asceticism ethics, although there are certain factors that are conducive to the emergence of capitalism

countries with objective history, but since there is no spiritual dynamic of rational capitalism, this kind of capitalism cannot exist in these civilizations.
generated independently.This proves his thesis from the negative: a religious ethic like Protestant asceticism is a rational

The indispensable spiritual motivation for the emergence of sexual capitalism.

Weber said his thesis was not to find "psychological determinants of economic events," but he insisted on the "fundamental importance of economic factors."

importance”; he urges research on “how the development and character of religious attitudes are in turn influenced by social and especially economic conditions

Overall influence". From the perspective of the whole idea of ​​Protestant ethics, Weber clearly emphasized the influence of the human spirit on shaping history.
the role of history.In the general introduction to the series of studies on "The Economic Ethics of World Religions", Weber graphically illustrates the
The relationship between human spiritual factors and material factors: "It is not ideas, but material and spiritual interests that directly dominate people's

doing.What very often happens, however, is that the image of the world created by the idea, like a switchman, determines

Behavior motivated by interests has always followed the track. "

In the causal analysis of historical phenomena, there is always room for uncertainty, because the direction of change in the historical process is often not

determined in advance, even in the case of fairly stable long-term trends (such as modern capitalism is such a trend),

It is also impossible to make strictly definite assertions about the origin and future course of trends.

Weber's causal analysis of the rise of modern rational capitalism fully embodies this idea of ​​historical uncertainty.Protestant

The ascetic ethics of the world only provided a kind of psychological motivation and moral energy for the emergence of rational capitalism, and explained that religious ethics

Irrational factors such as rational and religious thought can play a huge role in history.

Regarding the conditions for the rise of modern rational capitalism, Weber wrote in his completed masterpiece "Economy and Society" and the general history of the world economy.

The book talks about five items, namely, the first, the separation of production enterprises and households since the Middle Ages.this is in

There are clues in Fang's guild system. The relationship between apprentices and masters is based on contracts.Second, the West from the Middle Ages

Politically autonomous cities have existed since the late [-]th century.This kind of city has laws and regulations that reflect the will of the citizens, and is completely organized by the citizens.
A well-established municipal management organization and even an independent citizen armed force.Thirdly, in Europe there existed a kind of

Formalized and rationalized law.As early as the Middle Ages in the West, no matter whether it was natural law or divine law, they were both right and wrong.

For people, as well as the characteristics of systematization and orderliness.Fourth, the establishment of a rational capital management system represented by double bookkeeping.

In Weber's view, the double bookkeeping system that strictly calculates enterprise expenditure and income is the core of the rationalization of enterprise management, and it is the most embodyable
A system that embodies the rationalized spirit of capitalism.Fifth, there is an adequate institution of private property.Medieval European Merchant

And small business owners can dispose of their property as they please, and are subject to certain legal protections.

Not to mention that all the above-mentioned conditions cannot fully explain the origin of modern capitalism, but these conditions have historically
The appearance of also has different degrees of probability (that is to say, it does not necessarily appear under the domination of a certain law), then

Capitalism is only possible when all these conditions are met, and its probability is equal to the probability that all the above conditions occur (
That is, the product of the probability P<1), which is equal to the parallel events of these conditions, so the probability of the rise of capitalism is not much smaller

?

Therefore, according to the idea of ​​historical uncertainty, history can only be explained by possibility or opportunity, including long-term trends (
Long-term analysis (such as capitalism and bureaucracy) also contains probabilities, and cannot simply restore the status of the entire society
It is the determining role of a certain factor, whether it is economics, religion, politics or human nature.

When talking about rational capitalism and Protestant ethics, Weber believed that they only appeared in Western civilization and were
some unique phenomena.Not only that, in Weber's view, almost all the factors related to rational capitalism are also
unique to Western civilization.

In Weber's view, these cultural or historical phenomena unique to the West more or less embody the rationality in Western civilization.

spirit of doctrine.The essence of this spirit is a kind of formal rationality, which is based on goal-oriented rational calculation, but abstracts the goal
The actual content of the target, but with the most effective technical means to achieve the goal.Perhaps the most typical manifestation of formal rationality is geometric

They are the most abstract effective means to achieve goals.Therefore, the source of this rationalist spirit can be
Dating back to ancient Greece and Rome, Weber believed that modern capitalism is nothing more than this kind of formal rationality unique to the West.

Or a manifestation of rationalist tendencies.It is this that all of Weber's major works strive to explore, or rather attempt to reveal.

Various manifestations of this rationalism in Western civilization, and the relationship between this rationalism and the irrational spirit and essence of Eastern civilization
rationalist distinction.

In turn, Weber discovered that the reason why the East did not independently produce modern capitalism must of course be traced back to their civilizations

Traditions, traced to their cultural roots, that is, just as the East did not independently produce experimental science, modern music and sound

Like science, symphony, and representative democracy, these places would not have developed without the diffusion and transplantation of culture.
Rational capitalism.Rational capitalism, like experimental science, music and acoustics, symphony, etc., is a uniquely Western cultural

If it were not for cultural influence, these cultural forms would not have arisen elsewhere.

After World War II, Weber's theory was "resurrected" in Germany in the 50s and 60s, and prevailed in Japan in the 70s. Since 1982,

The complete works of Weber are published in Germany.Among the monographs on Weber in the world, there are more than 2000 titles containing Weber's surname.Japan

The number of research monographs is twice that of Europe and the United States.Many of the terms and concepts prevalent in the West today (e.g., "petrification" means rigidity, "

"Steel Shell of Dependency", etc.), all originate from Weber, and have become a common vocabulary of daily life and current affairs and politics.

Not only that, but the core issue concerned by western sociology, political science, economics, history, etc. is the issue of social vitality.

This question was first proposed by Weber.Many entrepreneurs in the West have written books, introduced successful experiences, and advocated entrepreneurial spirit and entrepreneurial spirit.

The cultivation of professional culture is also the inheritance of Weber's thought.

(End of this chapter)